She was the daughter of an English aristocrat and a young and gentle governess. She was lovely, intelligent, and had a quality that drew all men to her, ensnaring them fatally in a web of charm. Stubborn in her loyalties, passionate in her affections, her one flaw was her uncontrollable and tempestuous nature . . .

Sir John Danesfield, captivated by his illegitimate daughter's spirit, takes her to Regency London to live with his mistress. At the age of fifteen, Scarlett falls in love with the Vicomte Gerard de Valle, an impoverished French nobleman. Believing him lost to her, she enters a loveless marriage arranged by her father.

But Scarlett can never forget the man who had captured her heart, and embarks on an epic journey across the Napoleonic war-ravaged wastes of Europe and the snowy battlefields of Russia, in search of the man she loves, and the destiny that awaits her.